Double Dip
by doctoring
Summary: Jack thinks Bitty could learn how to take a check if he learns how to give a check. It doesn't seem to be working so far, but that changes after Shitty makes a disastrous mistake in the kitchen. A Writer's Month Fic. Word Prompt: hope


It's been two weeks and Bitty's check practices are not going as well as one would hope. Jack claims he can see some improvement but Bitty doesn't think there's a single difference between day one and now.

"Trust me, I can see a change."

"Well, I don't! It's just you _charging_ at me and it's _terrifying_. I don't even see how you can do that, how you can just check people like that."

"It's just part of the game, Bitty."

"It's savage if you ask me…" Bitty mumbles to himself before they continued their practice.

Towards the end of their check practice, Jack says, "Check me."

"Excuse me?"

"Check me. You said you can't see how I can do that, well, I want you to."

"But why?"

"I figured if you knew how to check, it will help you see it from the other side, and maybe you might become more at ease with getting check."

"I'm not entirely sure I follow your logic, but I'll try it."

Bitty soon found himself trying to check Jack, but unable to make contact. He just couldn't bring himself to hurt him, especially when he's done nothing wrong. Recent developing feelings for the boy didn't help the situation either.

The next time they had checking practice, they alternated between Bitty getting checked and Jack getting checked. Bitty was still flinching, freezing, and falling when getting checked, but at least he made contact with Jack when it was his turn to check.

"True, but you got to do more than just make contact. Right now, you're brushing up against me with less pressure than students trying to cram on the bus between classes."

"Oh ha ha," Bitty says flatly.

He tried to check Jack but found that he can't quite do more than make contact. He tries to build momentum, tries to put his weight into it, but he always found himself holding back, afraid of hurting someone, especially someone who had done no wrong.

The following day, there was no check practice and Bitty only had one class, so he decides to occupy the kitchen and bake his little heart out.

As he was waiting on a pie to bake, he decides to make use of some cocoa powder he found and make some brownies. Jack and Shitty return from one of their classes together, pausing as they pass by the kitchen.

Jack decides to walk on by, homework at the forefront of his mind. But Shitty was too curious for that.

"What you making there, Bits?"

"Brownies. But I got a pie in the oven, almost done actually."

"Brownies!? Do I need to remind you that as a Samwell athlete, you are not allowed-"

"Oh, stop! They're just plain simple brownies!" Bitty cuts in.

Jack, a bit concerned about the interaction, takes a few steps back and peeks into the kitchen, remaining hidden just past the doorway.

He watches as Shitty opens the oven slightly to take a look at the pie, prompting Bitty to smack his arm with a mixing spoon and then shut the oven door. Then Shitty peers into all the containers around the kitchen, all the different mixes Bitty had already made, all the Tupperware full of sweets that had already cooled. As Bitty was greasing a baking pan, Shitty sees the mixing bowl full of brownie batter on the kitchen table.

Jack feels the terror hit him as he watches Shitty dips his fingers into the brownie batter and then stick it in his mouth. Shitty nods in approval but stops when there's a loud clatter. Both boys turn towards Bitty. His eyes are wide, and he had apparently just dropped several metal measuring cups upon seeing Shitty sampling the raw batter.

Jack wanted to walk in and check on Bitty, but he felt frozen in place just as much as Bitty was. But it was due to this shock and the resulting lack of reaction that causes the situation to worsen.

"Dang, Bitty, this mess is real good. I can eat it just as is," Shitty states. He then takes his finger, the one he licked brownie batter from, and sticks it BACK into the brownie mix.

Jack is pretty sure he blacked out for a few seconds because all he remembers is Bitty trembling in place while looking murderously at Shitty from the other side of the kitchen. But now, all he can see is Bitty standing where Shitty once was, breathing hard and still shaking. However, Shitty was nowhere to be seen.

Then Jack hears the low groan and the pained coughing and rushes inside the kitchen.

He leans over the kitchen table, careful not to touch any of the items on top, especially the mixing bowl with the now tainted brownie batter. He has to practically lay across the table to see Shitty splayed out on the kitchen floor, holding himself. Even without the groans Jack could tell Shitty was hurt just by seeing the way his had his eyes shut tight and the fact that he didn't immediately try to stand up. Jack stands upright and looks over at Bitty.

Bitty is now standing over Shitty's feet while waving a mixing spoon angrily at him, causing bits of chocolaty batter to splatter on the floor and Shitty's jeans. Bitty was obviously too upset to formulate words. After a few seconds, he just tosses the pink mixing spoon onto the table, a bit too roughly, causing it to slide off the table.

Jack bends over and picks it up. As he goes to place it into the sink, he notices that Bitty is started to look pained himself as he rubs his shoulder.

_Did her seriously…!? He just checked Shitty!_

Jack couldn't help the grin that overtook his face. He quickly went up to Bitty and clapped him on his unhurt shoulder.

"Looks like there's some hope for you after all, eh," Jack teases him, appreciating the way Bitty started turning as pink as the silicone mixing spoon.

-the end-


End file.
